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him
From Middle English him, from Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai (“to this, to this one”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian him (“him”), West Frisian him (“him”), Sylt North Frisian ham, höm (“him”), Dutch hem (“him”), German Low German hum, hüm, em (“him”), German ihm (“him”, dative).
- (UK, US) enPR: hĭm, IPA(key): /ˈhɪm/, unstressed IPA(key): /əm/, [ɪ̈m]
- Homophone: hymn,'em for unstressed in some pronunciations.
- Rhymes: -ɪm
him (personal pronoun, objective case)
- A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
- With dative effect or as an indirect object. [from 9th c.]
1529, John Frith, A piſtle to the Chriſten reader […] [1]:
[…] therfoꝛ Chꝛiſt wold not call him abominable / But the verye abomination it ſilf.
- Following a preposition. [from 9th c.]
- With accusative effect or as a direct object. [from 12th c.]
- With dative effect or as an indirect object. [from 9th c.]
- (colloquial) As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.
Now him and Bernie are best friends.
Released a [statement] warning that him and 25,000 troops were going to stage a coup.
- (now rare) Used reflexively: (to) himself. [from 9th c.]
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in royall apparell, and set hym in his seate, and made an oracion unto them.
- With nominative effect: he, especially as a predicate after be, or following a preposition. [from 15th c.]
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene x]:
Before my body, I throw my warlike Shield: Lay on Macduffe, And damn'd be him, that first cries hold, enough.
2003 June 11, Claire Cozens, The Guardian:
Lowe quit the West Wing last year amid rumours that he was unhappy that his co-stars earned more than him.
- (slang) A person of elevated skill at a sport, game, or other activity.
Stop trying that, you're not him bro.
Bro thinks he's him.
2023 October 25, u/baggypantsman, “Super Mario 64 - 0 Star in 6:16 by Suigi”, in Reddit[2], r/speedrun, archived from the original on 23 December 2023:
Watched this one live, he randomly got it less than an hour into the stream while derusting for PACE. He's just him.
dative / indirect object
- Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ m (ʔiyyāhu)
- Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)
- Old Armenian: նմա (nma)
- Belarusian: яму́ (jamú)
- Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
- Dutch: hem (nl)
- Esperanto: al (eo), li (eo)
- Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
- French: lui (fr)
- German: ihm (de)
- Greek:
- Hindi: उसे m (use)
- Hungarian: neki (hu)
- Italian: gli (it)
- Latin: eī (la), illī, istī (la), huic (la)
- Macedonian: му (mk) (mu), (long form) нему (mk) (nemu)
- North Frisian: ham
- Old English: him (ang)
- Polish: jemu, mu (pl) (mute form)
- Portuguese: lhe (pt)
- Romanian: lui (ro) (stressed form), îi (unstressed form)
- Russian: ему́ (ru) (jemú)
- Sicilian: ci (scn)
- Slovak: mu (sk), jemu (sk)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: jomu
- Spanish: le (es)
- Turkish: ona (tr)
- Ukrainian: йому́ (uk) (jomú)
- Walloon: lyi (wa)
- West Frisian: him
- Zazaki: ayrê f, eyrê m
objective after preposition
- Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi)
- Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
- Dutch: hem (nl)
- Esperanto: li (eo)
- Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
- French: lui (fr)
- Greek:
- Ancient: (after preposition that governs accusative) αὐτόν (autón), ἕ (hé), τοῦτον (toûton), τόνδε (tónde), ἐκεῖνον (ekeînon), τόν (tón), ὅν (hón); (after preposition that governs dative) αὐτῷ (autôi), οἷ (hoî), τούτῳ (toútōi), τῷδε (tôide), ἐκείνῳ (ekeínōi), τῷ (tôi), ᾧ (hôi); (after preposition that governs genitive) αὐτοῦ (autoû), οὗ (hoû), τούτου (toútou), τοῦδε (toûde), ἐκείνου (ekeínou), τοῦ (toû)
- Irish:
- Italian: lui (it)
- Latin: (after preposition that governs the accusative) eum (la), illum, hunc (la), istum; (after preposition that governs the dative) eī (la), illī, huic (la), istī (la); (after preposition that governs ablative) eō (la), illō, hōc (la), istō
- Macedonian: му (mk) (mu) (short form), нему (mk) (nemu)
- Polish: niego, niemu (only after ku, przeciw, przeciwko and dzięki), nim (pl) (only after locative prepositions)
- Portuguese: ele (pt)
- Slovak: nemu (sk), neho (sk)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: njomu
- Spanish: él (es)
- Walloon: lu (wa)
- West Frisian: him
- Zulu: -ye class 1 (most common), -wo class 3, -lo class 5, -so class 7, -yo class 9, -lo class 11
accusative / direct object
- Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ m (ʔiyyāhu)
- Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)
- Belarusian: яго́ (jahó)
- Belizean Creole: ahn
- Czech: ho (cs), jeho (cs)
- Dutch: hem (nl)
- Esperanto: lin (eo)
- Finnish: hänet (fi), häntä (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
- French: le (fr)
- German: ihn (de)
- Greek:
- Hebrew: אותו (he) (otó)
- Hungarian: őt (hu)
- Irish: é
- Italian: lo (it)
- Judeo-Italian: אֵיסוֹ (ʾeso /esso/)
- Latin: eum (la), illum, istum, hunc (la)
- Macedonian: го (mk) (go) (short form), него (mk) (nego) (long form)
- Malayalam: അവൻ (ml) (avaṉ)
- North Frisian: ham
- Old English: hine (ang)
- Polish: jego (pl), go (pl) (mute form)
- Portuguese: o (pt)
- Romanian: (pe) el (ro) (stressed form), îl (unstressed form)
- Russian: его́ (ru) (jevó)
- Slovak: ho (sk), jeho (sk)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: jogo
- Spanish: lo (es)
- Telugu: వాణ్ని (vāṇni), అతణ్ని (ataṇni), ఆయన్ని (āyanni)
- Turkish: onu (tr)
- Ukrainian: його́ (uk) (johó)
- Walloon: li (wa) (between 2 consonants), el (wa) (between 2 consonants), l' (wa) (before or after vowel; the 3 placed before verb), lu (wa) (imperative, after verb)
- Wolof: ko
- Zazaki: ayer f, eyer m
- Zulu: yena class 1 (most common), wona class 3, lona class 5, sona class 7, yona class 9, lona class 11
Translations to be checked
- Albanian: (please verify) atij (sq)
- Danish: (please verify) ham (da)
- Greenlandic: (please verify) una
- Guaraní: (please verify) i
- Hindi: (please verify) इस (hi) (is), (please verify) उस (hi) (us)
- Hopi: (please verify) put
- Ido: (please verify) il (io), (please verify) ilu (io)
- Interlingua: (direct/indirect object) (please verify) le (ia), (after preposition) (please verify) ille (ia)
- Japanese: (please verify) 彼 (ja)
- Low German: (please verify) em (nds)
- Ngarrindjeri: (please verify) kin
- Norwegian: (please verify) ham (no), (please verify) han (no)
- Spanish: (please verify) le (es), a (please verify) el (es)
- Swedish: (please verify) honom (sv)
- Tupinambá: (please verify) i
- Welsh: (please verify) fe
- West Frisian: (please verify) him
him (plural hims)
- (informal) A male person or animal.
- Synonym: he
I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.
- 1985, Hélène Cixous, Sorties (translated)
- […] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits […]
2004, Charles J. Sullivan, Love and Survival, page 68:
By this time, she had so many questions, but she only hit him up for one answer about those “hims” and “hers.” She asked, “Do both hims and hers reproduce hummers?”
- “Bro Thinks He's Him / I'm Him”, in Know Your Meme, launched 2007
him
- Luis Oramas, Materiales para el estudio de los dialectos Ayamán, Gayón, Jirajara, Ajagua (1916)
him m
- h-prothesized form of im
him
- third-person masculine singular, dative: him, to him
Ech baken him e Kuch.
- I'm baking him a cake.
- third-person neuter singular, dative: her, to her; (rarely: it, to it)
Hie war gëschter mat him am Kino.
- He went to the cinema with her yesterday.
- For the use of the neuter for referring to female persons, see hatt.
From Old English him. Originally a dative form; gradually displaced accusative hine.
him (nominative he)
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun indicating a grammatical object: him.
- (reflexive) himself.
- Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object: it.
- (impersonal) Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object one, you.
Middle English personal pronouns
nominative | accusative | dative | genitive | possessive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | 1st-person | I, ich, ik | me | min mi1 |
min | ||
2nd-person | þou | þe | þin þi1 |
þin | |||
3rd-person | m | he | him hine2 |
him | his | his hisen | |
f | sche, heo | hire heo |
hire | hire hires, hiren | |||
n | hit | hit him2 |
his, hit | — | |||
dual3 | 1st-person | wit | unk | unker | |||
2nd-person | ȝit | inc | inker | ||||
plural | 1st-person | we | us, ous | oure | oure oures, ouren | ||
2nd-person4 | ye | yow | your | your youres, youren | |||
3rd-person | inh. | he | hem he2 |
hem | here | here heres, heren | |
bor. | þei | þem, þeim | þeir | þeir þeires, þeiren |
1Used preconsonantally or before h.
2Early or dialectal.
3Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third-person dual forms in Middle English.
4Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
- “him, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2018.
him
- Alternative form of hem (“them”)
him
him
him
him
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
him
him
- to work
- Sursurunga Organised Phonology Data (2011)
From Old Frisian him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai.
him
From Middle English him, from Old English him.
him
- him
1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 108:
Shoo zent him o' die.
- She sent him one day.
1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 108:
Shoo zent him anoor die a gozleen to keep;
- She sent him another day the goslings to keep;
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 108